AfyaIndex
Kenyan Reference & Directory
Free lookups: 1/3 Unlock Pro
Clinical reference Find a medicine
Ctrl K
Drug categories Interaction checker
1 of 3 free lookups remaining Upgrade
New search Medicine profile Lincomycin
Check interactions

Clinical medicine profile

Lincomycin

Therapeutic agent (verify pharmacological class)

POM
Evidence state General guidance Reviewed 14 Aug 2026
Route
See product SmPC
Schedule
POM
ATC
Not assigned
PPB status
registered
Patient advice Check interactions
Verification required

This profile needs source confirmation

Some sections contain general class guidance rather than medicine-specific evidence. Confirm prescribing decisions against the current SmPC and Kenya STG/EML.

01 Risk first

Safety essentials

The information most likely to change a prescribing or dispensing decision.

Contraindications

  • Meningitis, clindamycin and doxorubicin sensitive patients, GI disturbances (especially any history of colitis), pregnancy, lactation and infants.
  • Concommitant administration with erythromycin.

Precautions

  • Obtain allergy and medication history.
  • Adjust for renal/hepatic impairment, pregnancy, lactation, extremes of age and interacting drugs.
  • Use the lowest effective dose for the shortest appropriate duration.
  • Monitor for expected class adverse effects.
02 Point of care

Dosing matrix

Population and organ-function guidance, shown together for faster comparison.

Adult

Adult oral dose: 500 mg 3 or 4 times daily, taken at least 1 or 2 hours before or after food. Given parenterally by I.M injection in a dose of 600mg once or twice daily, or by slow I.V infu- sion in a dose of 0.6 to 1g two or three times daily. Higher I.V doses have been given in very severe infections, up to a total daily dose of about 8g. For intravenous use, lincomycin 1g should be diluted in not less than 100mL of diluent and infused over at least 1 hour.

Paediatric

See label paediatric section if present; otherwise use paediatric formulary — do not extrapolate adult doses.

Renal

Review renal impairment dosing; many agents need CrCl/eGFR adjustment.

  • CrCl 0–120: Confirm renal dosing in product SmPC / primary label.
Hepatic

Review hepatic impairment dosing; monitor LFTs if agent is hepatically cleared or hepatotoxic.

03 Clinical use

Use, effects & interactions

Indications

  • URTI, LRTI, skin and soft tissue and bone infections, joint infections, bactereamia.
  • Clinical selection for Lincomycin should follow culture results where relevant, Kenya STG/EML recommendations, and the current product SmPC.
  • Class context: Therapeutic agent (verify pharmacological class).
  • Confirm site-specific dose, duration and monitoring before prescribing.

Adverse effects

  • Adverse reactions vary by agent.
  • Counsel on common predictable effects and serious warning symptoms (allergy, severe rash, jaundice, unusual bleeding, severe GI symptoms, neurological changes).
  • Report suspected ADRs via national pharmacovigilance channels.

Drug interactions

Open multi-drug checker ↗
  • Professional use: confirm indication, dose, duration, monitoring and patient counselling points against current Kenya STG / EML and the product SmPC.
  • Document allergy status and key interactions.
04 Pharmacology

Mechanism & disposition

Binds to 50s sub-unit of the bacterial ribosome and inhibits bacterial protein synthesis by preventing attachment of aminoacyl transfer RNA to its acceptor site on the ribosome.

Bind ribosomeInhibit protein synthesisBacteriostatic / cidal
Read complete mechanism

Binds to 50s sub-unit of the bacterial ribosome and inhibits bacterial protein synthesis by preventing attachment of aminoacyl transfer RNA to its acceptor site on the ribosome. This prevents peptide bond formation by peptidyl transferase.

Onset

Product-specific

Duration

Product-specific

Route

See product SmPC

Elimination

are product-specific. Consider food effects, protein binding, hepatic CYP/UGT

Half-life

when adjusting for organ impairment, age and drug interactions. Verify parameters in the current SmPC.

05 Special populations

Pregnancy, lactation & diet

Pregnancy

Use only if potential benefit justifies potential risk; prefer agents with better reproductive data when alternatives exist.

Lactation

Assess infant risk vs benefit of maternal therapy; prefer agents with lactation data.

06 Kenya market

Brands & loaded prices

FromKES 60
MedianKES 440
Listings4
BrandManufacturerPackObserved price
Azidawa Afya Index / Retail Reference tabs 15ml KES 60.00afya_index_book
AzitcorSignature Afya Index product / manufacturer unverified tabs 500mg 3's Unavailable
AzitcorSignature Afya Index / Retail Reference caps 500mg 100's KES 440.00afya_index_book
Azuma Afya Index / Retail Reference tabs 500mg 30x3's KES 2,200.00afya_index_book
07 Provenance

Sources & review state

Primary sourceLocal active-ingredient clinical extract; Professional class pharmacology (Therapeutic agent (verify pharmacological class))
Last reviewed14 Aug 2026
EvidenceGeneral guidance

Decision support only. Confirm patient-specific decisions against the current product SmPC, Kenya STG/EML, and professional judgement.